The Religion Of The Ignorant

The sole arena for people in this society is the life of this world. But the fact is, the life of this world offers nothing but deception:

Know that the life of this world is merely a game and a diversion and ostentation and a cause of boasting among yourselves and trying to outdo one another in wealth and children: like the plant-growth after rain which delights the cultivators, but then it withers and you see it turning yellow, and then it becomes broken stubble. In the Hereafter there is terrible punishment but also forgiveness from Allah and His good pleasure. The life of this world is nothing but the enjoyment of delusion. (Surat al-Hadid, 20)

An ignorant society that has forgotten Allah quickly produces a culture that takes the life of this world as its sole criterion. This culture contains traditions handed down from its forebears, superstitious beliefs and countless ethical rules based on relationships of mutual interests. The Religion of the Ignorant is the name of the culture in question.

Someone born into this society will adopt its culture over a long process of education. From the moment they acquire awareness, they are immersed in the culture of Ignorantism, first from their families and then from those around them. They increasingly learn to use others for their own personal interests, to look out for number one, and to seek goods and status. Members of the society of the ignorant do everything necessary to teach them how to prove themselves as "proper" men.

"HIGH SCHOOL" PSYCHOLOGY IN IGNORANTISM

Ignorantism defines not just people's day-to-day behavior, but their entire lives and perspectives; who they select as friends, how to discriminate between people, what a person's rights and wrongs should be. High school years are one of the most critical periods in a person's life, when the foundations of the Religion of the Ignorant are laid. Concepts envisaged by Ignorantism, along with mindsets, forms of behavior, reactions and ethical understanding are all shaped at this time.

One of the most obvious features of the Religion of the Ignorant, which is the thirst for rank and status, first emerges in a powerful form during the high school period. This thirst is emphasized in the Qur'an in these words:

… [the life of this world is] a cause of boasting among yourselves… (Surat al-Hadid, 20)

In the high school years, a climate of competition emerges among students. Those who learn to be competitive with regard to grades and taking notes will also begin practicing this in other matters they will encounter in later life. Trampling on one another in subjects in which they are rivals is regarded as completely normal, and when it comes to areas where people share joint interests, looking out for one another is equally unexceptional. Outside school, a spirit of unity against the prevailing environment forms, although between classes or different groups in the same class, there is unrestrained competition.